Successful Blog

Blogs Aren’t Mini-Websites. They’re Powerful Tools.

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PART 1 IN A SERIES

Personal Computers as Tools

In Companies
When personal computers first became standardized and affordable, and software for using them was readily available, it wasn’t that long before they were sitting in every office. The ability to push rote tasks down to the lowest level has always been a strength of an effective business. Taking advantage of computers to do that–calculate spreadsheets, retype and revise documents, generate mailing lists–was an immediate no brainer for business folks focused on productivity. It wasn’t long before Information Management and IT became terms, then whole departments.

Personal computers changed how we work. They changed how we organized information, how we stored it, and share it, and even how we thought about it. Businesses–some more quickly than others–recognized that the computer was a tool of great value.

In American K-12 Schools
Schools, on the other hand, didn’t see the computer as a tool. They saw it as a subject, a class called Computer. Its highest honor was the day it replaced the class in touch typing. Even now in some prestigious New England high schools, the college prep strand kids still only officially see computers in the mandatory class called, “Computer Applications.”

It’s worth saying again. Schools don’t see computers as tools–like pencils and paper and textbooks or desks. Granted this a is gross generalization, but as an entity, Amercian K-12 schools can’t see past the contraption to take full advantage of its uses. The problem is not one of resources; it’s one of not enough folks feeling the need for them.

Blogs as Tools

Now companies and the mass media are acting like schools did. They see the physical blog and not the uses for it. They stop at the idea of what they think a blog is. Just as the school who sees computers as another subject, companies often see the contraption–blogs as another form of website, possibly as a way to do viral marketing.

We’re all missing that blogs are technology too.

The beauty of blogs is they are a flexible tool. The technology allows them to be that website and so much more–intranet, team project site, email replacement, advertising platform, billboard, company picnic, conduit to ideas, real connection to customers.

What Every Company and School Should Know

What most non-bloggers should know is that the number of both public and private blogs will continue to grow. They will outnumber websites based solely the fact that the expertise required to run a blog makes it inevitable. Small businesses start blogs because they already know that blogs are more flexible–can do more things, more easily, more quickly, and for much lower start up costs.

We owe it to our readers and our customers to to let them know that a blog isn’t just a poor person’s website.

If you want to add value to a business relationship, share that information with someone who needs it.

Let’s talk about how many ways blogs can be used. What do you see when you look at your blog as a tool?

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related articles:
Part 2–Blogs: The New Black in Corporate Communication
Business, Blogs, and Niche-Brand Marketing
Chicago Goes Wi-Fi . . . What Does that Mean to Business?
Marketing Strategy ala Mickey Mouse

Here’s Four for Mike

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Four for Four

When my son was four, my husband was forty-four, they both were my business managers of sorts. We’d discuss my business problems, and they’d give their advice, each in their own fashion–one the engineer and process piper, the other the master of alphabet letters and all things thoughtful or graphic.

Now I face a dilemma, and I need that four-year-advisor now.

You see, one of my dear, dear readers has “tagged” me. You might know him. His name’s Mike Sigers. His blog is Simplenomics. The tag in question is a tag of fours.

I read his post link four times. And answered it with four sounds. “ouch, ow, ooh, oh.”

You see, in my life I’ve had four jobs as a teacher, wholesales shirt rep. for Van- Heusen, a Publisher, and a writer. That’s easy. I’ve been to more than four places on vacation and business–Sydney, Dublin, Bologna, and London. I’ve seen four movies I can watch over and over Beautiful Mind, Armageddon, Silverado, and Sleuth, but I’ve only ONCE been tagged by a blogger.

To tell the truth, deep down I get self-conscious when people are looking straight me. My life is pretty boring. Who’d want to read about it? But this is for a friend and a reader. Business is all about relationships. So what does a blogger do? Especially a nice one. I am the nice one after all.

A Four-Year-Old Advisor

I thought about what my four year old’s advice would have been,

Mom, I thinked about it and my think said “Is there a clown suit involved? No. Do you have to stand on your head? No. Are there letters? Yes.”
Mom, you should do it for your friend.

How can I argue with sage business advice like that? Okay so here I go.

Four TV shows I love to watch when I watch TV (if they’re still on) NCIS, The Apprentice, Two and a Half Men, and Business Unusual. Four books I read I really love are The Once and Future King (White), I Touch the Earth, the Earth Touches Me(Prather) Creativity (Csikszentmihalyi), A Beautiful Mind(Nasar), and a bonus Illusions(Bach).

Four websites I visit daily? It’s more like forty. Let’s see there’s Tom Peter’s blog, all of those at Bloglines, several SOB blogs, check the b5 media blogroll, and I go exploring business blogs daily. Four places I’d rather be are the same four places I mentioned earlier. My four favorite dishes are peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, flourless chocolate cake with no extras, pizza in Bologna, Italy, and a good porterhouse steak with mushrooms.

A special note to Mike and all of my readers:

As I finish this I hear four tunes that play in my head
I Live in the Groove (Paul Carrack) and Surrender (Lisbeth Scott). I know there must be More than This (Peter Gabriel) and I will be your friend when you feel your Back Against the Wall (Alan Parson Project).

Now I tag Chartreuse BETA , Copyblogger Brian, Brian Shih, and Cas at Brightmeadow.

Can’t wait to hear more about you guys now. Don’t leave me standing here. Say something. 🙂

I think I need to go find the automatic flatterer now. I’ll be back right after.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

What Makes a Great SOB?!

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Recently a new reader asked me about SOBs, what they stood for, and how the whole thing worked. So I’ve made a new page, much like this post, so that all new readers will know in the future. And so that you would know about SOBs where they came from and why people actually want to be one.

No, No, It’s not THAT!

Mischievious Liz

When the SOB program started, I was looking for a way to encourage the sense of community that Successful-Blog stood for. The conversations were fun, fast, and sometimes irreverent. Discussions on the blog often brought up good ideas, and I wanted to make sure those ideas continued and become more out in the blogosphere–everyone making everyone a little bit better. It’s the only way that we can make ourselves strong here in what they call “The Magic Middle.” We talk to each other.

What the SOB Program Is and Is Not

The idea was that anyone who took the discussion back to their blog would let me know. Then I would give that blog recognition on Successful-Blog for extending the conversation into the blogosphere–making the community larger, the dialogue bigger, all of us smarter, better and our businesses stronger. Most folks forgot the part about letting me know. So I kept watch and found out on my own.

Every week I make copies of their logos and add them to the list of Successful and Outstanding bloggers who understand that the strength of the blogosphere comes from relationships, interconnectedness, and community. Not all of these folks have all of the links you might expect, but they will, because they show the key traits of a succesful blogger.

Soon enough it became apparent that having a blog didn’t need to be a criteria either. Some of the best ideas came from blog readers who added value to the dialogue, but had no blog to bring the conversation back to. I felt strongly they should be included as SOBs too. Which tells you what the progam is not, i.e. a link exchange. That’s also why, though they’re appreciated, blogrolls do not make SOBs.

The Badges

If you’ve been through a few pages on Successful-Blog you’ve seen these badges.

and wondered about them. Those are the official badges awarded each week to those who are named Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog.

It was Mike Sigers who thought of the blog badges, and Mike Rundle of 9rules who designed them. The SOB for Successful and Outstanding Blogger was my own– a bit of mischief to underscore our sense of irreverence and openness in discussions. It’s become quite a symbol of what the blog stands for. Every now and then a fun post goes up titled “Liz called me an SOB,” those are my favorite.

People don’t have to put the badges on their blogs. They don’t need to link back. Most of them do and I’m grateful for the sense of community that shows. More that than, I’m glad that they extend the community further out.

If You Want to Be an SOB

Find a way to start a dialogue about how blogging helps business, or carry the dialogue here back to your blog. Offer a great feature, post, idea, or an article that will shed new light for the blogosphere. Contribute something that demonstrates you think like a Successful and Outstanding Blogger. Then just tell me about it. I’m pretty easy to persuade, if you’re truly committed to being one.

Every SOB is automatically included in the SOB directory. Stop in there when you’re looking for a great read.

Can’t wait until I can call you an SOB too.

ME “Liz” Strauss

Stand-Alone Trackback Tool from WhizbangTech

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Good news for bloggers who work on platforms that don’t perform trackbacks to other blogs. Rather than hacking your template to do things it wasn’t meant to do WhizbangTech has a stand-alone trackback tool.

Trackbacks are a great way of building visibility for yourself, your business, and your blog. When you read a post on another blog and realize you’ve posted on the same subject, a trackback offers a chance to say, “Hey, I’ve had a few insights into that topic myself.” Without trackbacks, you’re missing out on another way to promote your business and your blog.

If your platform doesn’t offer trackbacks, bookmark this site and pull it out whenever you need to let that expert you read daily know you’ve written something that ties into the current conversation. If you do it with thought and not too liberally, you’ll find some folks will follow your trackbacks home to see what else you have to say.

To get the WhizbangTech Stand-Alone Trackback Tool, click the logo below.

Now you can let people know you were paying attention to what they said and add to the conversation too.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related articles:
Blog Basics 1: Comments and Comment Policies
A Little More about Trackbacks
Blog Promotion Basics [for Everyone]

Success Is Showing Up

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Apologies

Success is showing up when your reader-customers are there.

This morning this blog didn’t.

My apologies.

In return, I’ll be sharing a bunch things I have up sleeve, while work on what I had planned to finish and send to you earlier this morning.

ME “Liz” Strauss